In this space last week, it was reported that the Greater Augusta Arts Council (GAAC) was being allotted $7,000 for general operating expenses and $5,000 for art projects from the city of Augusta in fiscal year 2022.
This week, it was announced that the GAAC was approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a $20,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support their Second Saturday Art Walk.
MORE: Arts Council Announces Award Recipients
“This project will activate the Augusta Sculpture Trail and provide new and exciting public art activities in downtown Augusta. The Greater Augusta Arts Council’s project is among the more than 1,100 projects across America totaling nearly $27 million that were selected during this second round of Grants for Arts Projects fiscal year 2021 funding,” per a news release.
“The Greater Augusta Arts Council is pleased to have won this very competitive grant. As our community emerges from the pandemic, we are happy to have programmed the City of Augusta’s outdoor celebration of public art,” said GAAC Executive Director Brenda Durant. “The NEA-funded monthly Sculpture Trail activations programmed by Coco Rubio are a perfect addition to the virtual guide from Otocast with scavenger hunts designed bring the arts to everyone in our city.”
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Georgia Gov. Brian P. Kemp announced last week that Georgia secured the highest ratings of AAA with a stable outlook from each of the three main credit rating agencies: FitchRatings, Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings.
“Of the states that issue general obligation bonds, only nine currently meet this standard. Georgia’s upcoming general obligation bond sale will fund over $1.1 billion in capital projects. The Peach State’s AAA ratings will enable the state to sell its bonds at the lowest possible interest costs when it takes bids for those bonds in early June,” per the announcement.
“Securing the highest state bond rating for yet another year is a testament to decades of conservative leadership at the state level and our balanced approach in protecting both lives and livelihoods throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” Kemp said. “In a year of unprecedented challenges — working with the General Assembly — we cut taxes, balanced the state’s budget, invested in essential services, and avoided draconian budget cuts. These decisions resulted in an unemployment rate below the national average and the lowest of the ten most populated states, record job and investment growth, and being named the top state for business for the eighth year in a row. By working together to put hardworking Georgians first, we’ll continue to make Georgia the best state to live, work and raise a family.”
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SRP Park will be returning to full capacity on Monday, June 1. This is a planned expansion that was detailed before the season began, when the stadium started out in limited capacity with plans to open up fully in time. According to Augusta CEO, this comes as a result of recent guidelines from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and the City of North Augusta.
The GreenJackets will begin their third homestand on June 1, with the Charleston River Dogs, an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, visiting Augusta.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com.
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